Monday, December 10, 2012

Please Allow me to Introduce Myself...

My name is Jackie... and I'm a movie junkie...If this were an AA meeting, the expected response is that everyone in the room says "hi" back.And I go on to tell my life's story, etc, etc.But the thing is, I'm not ashamed to admit that I am crazy about movies, for similar and different reasons than music and reading. All three mediums coincide in a number of ways, but they also interconnect because they're among my biggest interests.Like the title of this entry being a lyric from a Rolling Stones song ["Sympathy for the Devil"] I heard for the first time in one of my favorite movies... stuff like that.First and foremost, I am a writer. December 8th marks the 13th year of me considering myself a writer. I had a dream the night before, a scene that stuck with me, and I had to write to see how it happened and how it was resolved. That led to a series of fanfiction, which later led to me writing my own material.I began with fantasy & romance, a little while before I became acquainted with the Harry Potter series, both in books and films. Lately, it's been less about the escapism and more about interpreting something I either saw or heard into writing so I could understand it.I average one of those short stories per year and 2 times out of 3, it started with a movie that stuck with me for a long time. Ironically, both of them revolved around unhappy endings that I couldn't get past. So my method of "grieving" was writing my idea of what could have happened next in a similar scenario or I simply rewrote the ending until I could live with it.

It's amazing to me how certain movies are great escapes from reality and others are thought-provoking to the point you see certain aspects of life differently than you did beforehand.But the best part to me, in some ways, is that movies are universal. Everyone has their choice of favorite movies and it opens doors to a multitude of conversations.This is especially helpful for someone like me who sometimes has trouble getting into a conversation because of my shyness or I don't know enough about the subject matter to add my two cents about it. I'm not the most eloquent person in the world. When I talk, the right words don't come to me as easily as they do when I write them down.But if given a topic I'm knowledgeable AND passionate about, it's hard for me to stop.Just so I don't make this entry any longer than I has to be, (trust me, there'll be longer ones than this), I'll go into a few things about me when it comes to movies:

I look forward to Fridays because that's when the movie reviews come out (and I don't always agree with Mr. Ebert's reviews)

A lot of my recent Facebook statuses are reviews of the last movie I saw ... I will spend a handful of entries on this blog writing more lengthy reviews

I love the pageantry of the Oscars as well as the contrasting relaxed and chummy atmosphere of the Golden Globes.

Like a lot of people, I too have my fascination with "celebrity" but in addition to the movies, I enjoy DVD Commentaries and interviews with my favorite actors because they give me more information about my favorite movies, actors and directors.

I'd always the kind of person who loves quoting movies to the point where they're inside jokes in conversations I have with my friends and family.

Nowadays, some of my favorite things about movies are getting to know the styles of different directors and enjoying creative, off-the-wall scripts that bring all kinds of new jokes and scenarios to the table. And I enjoy unpredictability, when the third act starts off on the wrong foot, barring the usual cliches, but the happy ending still finds a way to happen.Just a few tidbits to chew on until the next time.

For my next entry, I'll cover a topic that's extremely relevant this time of year:Christmas and the Holiday Season